Film holder



NOV. 25, 194.7. F, 1:, wlLLcoX 2,431,356

FILM HOLDER original Filed ot. 1s, 1945 F'fsi v F76. Z

'duble Such .Sirucigrleslio those commonly used,

Patented Nov. 25, 1947 Frederick P. Willcox, United States Army, f Arlington County, Va. o

Original application Octoberl, 1943, Serial No. 506,521. Divided and this application February 27, 1945, Serial No. 580,056

2` claims. (ci. :a5- 68) v(Granted under the act Y amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manu-` factured andu'sed by lor Vfor the Government for rgovernmental purposes, without the payment of any royalty thereon.

This application is a division of my application Serial No; 506,521, filed October 16, 1943, now

Patent Number 2,413,017, issued December 24,

- This invention relatsto cameras, and more paretnriyt iiapgsvgiiiejnts mmm boitiers for l use in cameras.

Itis an objectof 4this invention to provide a n'h'older, fina-de of metal, and of A'have 60% less bulk than *and so'de'signed as to lend itself to precision manufacture. The structure is so designed as to have great inherent strength y so (as togbepractically unbreakable, due to the j stressing of the central partition plate, which is assembled, orr cast, integrally with the side end bars, the plate taking such stressing to prevent deformation of the film holder such as might be caused by dropping or other rough treatment by the user.

A further object is the provision of .a double sheet lm holder` of rigid and simple construction which avoids the delicate structures of those in current use such as hinged end pieces which, in the common construction, must be swung out for the insertion of nlm, said pieces having fragile cloth hinges and a longitudinal slot which weakens them tremendously. The lack of rigidity in prior constructions, that lack of rigidity being largely the result of a hinged bottom member to the frame, is objectionable.

A further object is the provision in a double sheet lm holder, of a novel, rigid and simple construction which embodies in its design the use of dark slides of a metal, such as stainless steel, such metallic slides being more durable than the hard rubber slides heretofore used. Hard rubber slides are further objectionable in that when they are slid in and out of the holder they acquire an electrostatic charge from rubbing over the cloth material which forms part of the light trap. This electrostatic charge attracts dust to the slide, and some of this dust falls on the surface of the lm when the electrostatic charge is dissipated, thus giving rise to objectionable dust spots appearing on the film when it is developed.

A further object is to provide, in a double sheet film holder, a means for holding one end of the lm (the end rst inserted), in a iiat position after insertion, such means being designed so of March 3, 1883, as

that the use of the thumb or ringer nail to guide the first insertedend of thei'ilm under the holddown piece, as is necessary in priorrconstruction, is obvated. The design of this hold-down piece incorporates two curvesr in the leading edge; one in a` plane. parallel tothe surface of the film, and

` theA other ina plane perpendicular to the surface of the film of the lm, which curves,A together, guide the end under the hold-down piece without assistance from the lingers-ofthe user.

Figure 1 is 4a perspective View of a lm holder embodying the invention. Y Y Y Y Y Figure 2 is a sectional view Ataken on the line I-I 0 of Figure 1. y

Figure 3'is a sectional view taken on the line H-HofFigureLrvr s f Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of the nlm holder. f

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the portion shown in Figures'.

Figure 6 is a perspective view lof the light trap.

Referring to the drawings,.in Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a lm holder provided with a light p 206, hereinafter described, and having the form of a rectangular channeled frame 45, which has a central partition plate 46 for separating the photographic iilms. The partition is either assembled or cast integrally with the frame 45. The channelled frame 45 has grooves 41 for dark slides 201, grooves lms 208, and a deeper groove for the partition plate 46. Channelled frame end 49 is aiiixed byrivets or other suitable means to the side pieces of frame 45, and has grooves for dark slides and for the central partition plate 46.

The holder, shown to exaggerated thickness in the drawings, is made, preferably, entirely of metal which enables it to be smaller in bulk than holders made of wood and other materials. Also, the metal structure enables the location of the surface of the iilm to be kept Within tolerances of plus or minus one one-thousandth of an inch, permitting more accurate photography. The dark slides 201 are made of metal instead of hard rubber, and therefore, are free from dust due to static electric charges such as are built up in conventional holders when hard rubber dark slides are inserted or withdrawn. 'I'he borders of frame 45 are cut-away at 91 to facilitate the insertion down by a bar 99 having a curved portion H0 (see Figure 4) in a plane parallel to the plane of the partition, and a curved portion Ill (see Figure 5) in a plane perpendicular to the plane of portion guides and facilitates film.

The novel light'trap 206 is shown in Fig. 6 to comprise a metal base 209, ofresilient metal, having a plurality of lingers 210. A sheet of ielt or similar material is wrapped about the base providing an outer layer 211 and an inner layer 212.

The light trap is positioned between 213, 214 of the head piece of the iilm holder (see Fig. 2) and held in place in a groove of a block 215, which has a tight rit between the upper portion ofwalls 213, 214, The block 215 is further held in place by a tongue and groove connection with the side members of the rectangular frame 45. The light trap is thus clamped between the block 215 and the partition plate 46. The free edges of the trap firmly abut the inner sides of walls 213, 214 and provide an absolute shield against entry of light.

I claim:

1. A nlm holder comprising a thin plate of rectangular outline, frame elements embracing said plate adjacent three ofV its edges, said frame elements being internally grooved to receive a nlm, the two elements at opposite edges of said plate being internally cut away adjacent the third element to provide channels communieating with said groove for the insertion of a film, and a nlm retaining bar extending between said two elements and parallel to the third element and supporting said plate at the edge thereof opposite that which is embraced by the said third element, a groove in lsaid bar forming a continuation of the grooves in said other elements, the inner edge of said bar being curved in a plane parallel to said plate to arch inwardly from the ends toward the center of said grooved bar, and the groove defining undersurface of said bar being curved in plate to arch upwardly away from the plate at the partition, which curved the insertion of v the center of the bar.

a plane perpendicular to said' `elements which embrace at the inner edges of the 2. A iilm holder comprising a thin plate of rectangular outline, frame elements embracing said plate adjacent the sides and bottom thereof and allm retaining bar extending between said the plate at its sides and supporting the top edge of the plate, grooves side frame members and a continuing groove in the bar within which a film may be inserted, means adjacent the bottom frame member within which the lm is initially inserted for entry into the side member grooves, the inner edge of said bar being curved in a plane parallel to said plate to arch inwardly from the ends toward the center of said grooved bar, and the groove defining undersurface of said bar being curved in a plane perpendicular to said plate to arch upwardly away from the plate at the center of the bar.

FREDERICK P. WILLCOX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 370,370 Blair Sept. 27,1887 437,656 Lewis Sept. 30, 1890 708,370 Lewis Sept. 2, 1902 894,582 Borsum July 28, 1908 925,895 Goddard June 22, 1909 1,631,479 Folrner June 7, 1927 2,344,951 smith Mar. 2s, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 483 Great Britain Jan. 7, 1911 2,244 France Dec. 2, 1903 1st Addition to Patent No. 296,253 

